Hello fellow Kyou Kara Maoh fans! This is my second KKM fanfic. Much more on the humorous side compared to the first fic, so I hope you all enjoy reading it. :)

Once again, completely in Yuuri's POV.

Meddling Sage

After three hours of listening to Gunter preach about the several rivers and lakes that Shin Makoku contained, I was finally set free from my long morning of studying. I always knew he could talk until bones disintegrated, but that was a whole new level I wasn't ready to play on.

The lesson got even more lengthy when Lady Celi appeared somewhere in the middle of it and insisted on sitting in. Apparently our topic at the moment was something she had lots of knowledge on, and as she spoke, I couldn't help but wonder how much her jewellery alone costed. Really, it was none of my business, but hearing her point out all of the lakes she got her best pearls from had me oddly concerned as a King.

I let out a deep breath, shoving all of that to the back of my mind. I just focused on enjoying my sluggish walk through the hallways of Blood Pledge Castle, determined to avoid anyone who would bring me any sort of troubling tasks to do. Especially Gwendal. If he saw me, it was game over. The eldest brother of the three demons who looked nothing alike - but had lots in common with - would drag me off without hesitation to complete my paperwork and I would be too scared to even make a peep. As if I could argue with any one of them anyways… Well, maybe Conrad. I wondered where he was at the moment.

Lord Conrart Weller was the second brother of the three. Him being half human and half demon like myself, and the patient type, he was much easier to talk to. Plus, he's my god-father. And although he was roughly one hundred years old, he looked no older than a senior in high school. His appearance was quite average too, in the good looking kind of way. While Gunter, Wolfram and Gwendal transcended beauty that made me feel kind of inferior with my average looks, Conrad created a sense of normalcy I could feel comfortable with.

Surely he was busy right now, so asking him to play catch with me was out of the question. What else could I do? Aha! Maybe I could finally start reading the new edition of Poison Lady: Lady of the Graveyard. My cute daughter Greta might finally stop teasing me with spoilers, and maybe, if I'm lucky, I can be the one who's farther ahead this time. Oh yes. Time for some sweet vengeance.

Oh, wait.

My face fell and a hand went to my head with dismay.

An important fact suddenly made itself known in my mind—a fact that I tried my hardest to ignore and deal with all at the same time. I still couldn't read. Not without help anyways. I was only at a second grade level, and even though Gunter showered me with praises for my progress, I knew my vocabulary lacked a lot. Why did Shin Makoku's language have to be so hard?!

Humph. I can already hear Wolfram yelling at me for being a lousy King and the bishounen's not even here.

I must have made quite the expression because the guards were now avoiding my eyes as much as possible—some with concern written all over their faces. I mentally slapped myself. C'mon Yuuri! Keep it together! How can I possibly play pro league baseball if I can't contain my facial expressions! I'd make people laugh rather than be known for my skills. Even my team members would have trouble trusting me to stay cool.

I shook my head vigorously. I just needed to freshen up and grab something to eat before the inevitable happened. So, of course the first place I head to is my room. Reaching the door, with a wide smile I pushed it open and stepped in, only to have all my hopes and dreams of a peaceful break dashed and destroyed into bits.

"Bad Omen! Bad Omen!"

And of course, the Bad Omen birds had to sing by to ice the cake on my disaster.

My mind hit earth- well, this dimension, and I snapped out of my trance to stare at the intruder. My mouth took its sweet time catching its bearings, and when I finally found words to say, all that came out was a mess. So much for staying calm and collected.

"Mu-Murata? Murata! What are you- urgh! What are you doing?!"

I found myself yelling, on the verge of hysterics faster than a train.

"Hey, Shibuya!"

Honestly. Ignoring the goosebumps that broke out on my arms, all I could do in that moment was stare with wide eyes at my best friend - the one who somehow travelled with me to this fantasy of a world only to have me find out that he's also none other than the legendary Great Sage of said world, reborn—who was currently absolutely clueless about the danger he was playing with.

Even though Ken Murata has such a mighty title, it didn't seem he was so wise after all.

"You better stop that right now. You're asking to be killed. And in the process, I'll get killed."

"Impossible," Murata answered half-heartedly, not even looking at me, and I spotted that cheeky smile of his that filled me with dread.

Yeah. Right.

I'm so dead.

Casting a quick glance towards my bedroom door and shutting it behind me as I entered as fast as I could, I returned my black coloured eyes to Murata who was also donned in the severely rare ebony colour. His outfit was only slightly different from my own, lined with a gold coloured border. He shoved his round framed glasses back up his nose as he rummaged around in the drawers not even I dared to touch.

"C'mon Shibuya. What's the problem? Don't tell me you haven't been wondering what he hides in here. It's been almost two years! Not once did you think-"

"No. Never."

A quick answer was best. Any delay in replying would create an easier path towards my destruction.

Murata stood and scratched his head. Looking at him, I resisted with all my might not to look down into the opened drawer after nearing him. I readied myself to manually remove him from my room if necessary. Not just for my sake, but his as well.

"Ah! You're no fun at all! I was hoping to feed off your excitement, but it seems he has you well trained!"

"N-No he does not-!" I began, my face heating up. Not from embarrassment. How could he think such a thing?! I'm no dog. And I'm not a wimp either.

"You're such a wimp."

"You're not allowed to say that!"

"Oh, why bother. Lord von Bielefeld has nothing interesting in here anyways. It's just clothing. I honestly thought it would be exciting to see inside since not even you knew what his drawers contained."

"I knew what was inside! Clothes! Like normal people! What made you think there would be anything else?!"

"Because it's Wolfram! The Selfish Poo who looks like an angel but is actually a demon-"

"He is a demon..."

"…who's so secretive about his possessions. He has such a vibrant and loud personality, so I got curious! What would the pretty boy have to hide…? The question dawned on me one day and refused to leave me alone."

I was this close to start rubbing my temples. Oh Murata.

I gave the door another quick glance and took a look at the time on my watch. But, what was the point? Wolfram could come here any moment in search of me. He was by my side throughout my lessons, and he would still be here unless his mother hadn't ushered him off as soon as we were done. Lady Celi had said something along the lines of, '…clothes that would look so good on you! You're a splitting image of me so I knew the colours would suit you-' and Wolfram had had no chance to escape as she dragged him away, his hands reaching out to me for rescuing.

Now that I thought about it, maybe it was great that Lady Celi dragged him away. Or else, he would have walked in and got the shock of his life just as I am. Or, perhaps he should've walked in. Atleast then he would know that Murata was the sole culprit and I had no part in this.

"He's your fiancé, so the fact that you don't know should be something serious, don't you think?"

Clearing my thoughts I clenched my eyes tightly, pinching the bridge of my nose as I responded.

"Murata, leave it alone. Please. If he catches us, we're both dead meat."

And another thing. Since this guy was my best friend I should have an idea as to what goes on in that intelligent brain of his. Calculating and manipulative, perverted and a slight bit of an odd ball for his title, I should expect something crazy. But this? This was a shock even to me. Never would I have guessed he would go as far as snooping around in other people's belongings to satisfy his overactive imagination. On second thought… yeah. He totally would.

I didn't know what else to do. I had no intention of actually using force to get him to stop. And to make in even worse, the sly dog knew he was going to get me into deep shit. Did he care? Apparently not!

I watched helplessly as he pulled out the familiar, frilly pink nightgown Wolfram wore to bed from the wardrobe. Murata chuckled and gave me a pervy look as he eyed the clothing.

My smile tightened, and my brow twitched.

"Murata. Please. Stop." And with pursed lips I snatched the nightgown away and stuffed it back in the closet, pushing the drawers closed with my leg in an attempt to give him a hint.

"C'mon Shibuya! Not fair!"

"Me getting into trouble is not fair!" I'm the King, dammit. Why can't anyone listen to me?

"It's time for you to go."

Murata let out a sigh at my words. Standing up straight, seemingly finally done with his snooping, he glanced upwards and pushed his frames back up his nose. I tapped my foot impatiently, arms crossed. Oh Great Wise Man, your delay tactics aren't going to help you. If Wolfram did indeed had something to hide, he wouldn't put it in a spot that's easy to find.

"C'mon already!" I urged loudly, when a tiny smirk rose on Murata's face.

"Oh…?"

"That's it." I felt a vein pop in my head. I made a grab for his arm and began tugging him out the room, away from the wardrobe. "You've overstayed your welcome. Entirely!"

"Hold on, Shibuya! Wait a sec," and like a cat he wormed his way out of my grasp to make a little jump, arms outstretched to reach the top of the wardrobe. I was confused for a moment, but then I laid eyes on the object he grabbed.

My heart almost exploded from horror.

"Now, what's this?" he said to himself, turning it over, and all I could do was gape like a fish.

Murata eyed the blue sketchbook with a wicked look of amusement. It was a book that I had gifted to Wolfram a few months back when I returned from Earth. It had reminded me of him as soon as I laid eyes on it. Or, when my mom laid eyes on it and squealed, telling me that it was perfect for him.

How a book reminded her of a person I would never know… but that's beside the point.

Anyways. Ever since he got the sketchbook, Wolfram had been secretive about the drawings he had inside. I remembered seeing it with him often. When we had a few hours off, or after dinner when we got ready for bed, I would see him in the corner of the room, watching and sketching silently. Surely they were of me, but if Wolf was keeping it under lock and key then that meant it definitely wasn't for Murata's eyes.

"Give that!" and without hesitating I made a lunge for the book. Murata swerved out of the way.

"Hey, what's the matter?!" Murata exclaimed, and I made a mad dash for it again. He would itch to peek even more if I acted too desperately to take it. Play it cool, Yuuri.

I laughed humorously.

"That's just Wolf's sketchbook. Nothing to see in there, okay?" I reached out for it, but Murata kept it out of arms reach. He eyed me carefully.

"Then why are you trying so hard to get it? It is just a regular sketchbook of his, right?"

"Yeah, and you know what kind of art Wolfram draws. He does Expressionistic art now. I don't get it, since I look terrible in each one. If you want to see good drawings, you should check out his old canvases back when he did Realistic art. Now those were fantastic. They're in his room if you want to see."

I was saying whatever came to my mind, and chuckling weirdly as I did. Murata kept taking steps back, warily eying me, the book held high out of my immediate reach.

"I see…" he trailed off, and his glasses shone. I gulped.

"Seriously, Murata, give it to me."

"And if I say no?"

I snapped and ran at him. Not expecting that reaction at all, Murata was frozen for a split second before swinging out of the way just as my fingers grazed his sleeve.

"Give it to me, Murata!"

"Not happening now!" and he jumped up on to the bed, scrambling as fast as he could across it.

His plan was surely to get to the other side and make a break for one of the doors that led outside, but he underestimated me. I leaped on him when he got tangled in the thick blanket, and I flattened him completely. Straddling him, I ripped the book out of his hands. All he could do was stare at me with wide eyes.

"Don't touch the book," I stated firmly.

"OK," he peeped, and a sly grin worked its way to his face. I scowled.

"What are you smiling about now?"

"Oh, just this position. On you and your fiancé's bed. Isn't Lord von Bielefeld due soon…"

"Murata, you are definitely a pervert! If you're that bored, I'm sure the priestesses at the Great One's shrine has lots of chores for you to do. Maybe cleaning some clogged toilets would clean your dirty mind while you're at it."

"Now you're just being mean."

"Well what am I supposed to do when my friend tries to get me murdered!?" I huffed, a headache throbbing against my temples. "Now you owe me one. If Wolfram ever finds out-"

I registered the sound of the door creaking open only when it was already too late.

"If I find out what?"

Murata smirked, and I paled as the familiar voice floated through the room. And from the sound of it, unaware as to what he was entering on.

"Yuuri, what are you talking about-? … YUURI?!"

"Wolfram!"

I whipped my head around so fast that I actually strained my neck, but I had no time to worry about that right now because standing in the doorway was, most definitely, Wolfram.

The ocean blue uniform. His honey blond hair. Emerald eyes that were clear and bright, as calm as a lake. He had a pristine and divine appearance for a demon, capable of bringing those on the brink of death back to life if they so laid eyes on him. But, looking at him now, the green lake of his eyes was filled with such fury that could rival the biggest storm.

His face went red with anger, and then, he exploded.

"You- How dare you!? You cheater! With the Sage nonetheless!"

"Ahh-! Wolfram! Stop! Please! Don't get mad!"

Panic surged through me. I rolled off Murata who was looking at us with amusement and made a dash for the edge of the bed. With the sketchbook in my hand, it didn't take long for Wolfram to notice it. He paused, realising the truth of the matter.

"You snuck into my things."

"Wolf, please calm down! It's just a misunderstanding. I didn't."

"You wimp! How could you do this? You've ruined everything!"

"Wolf, it's not what it looks like! Trust me."

Grabbing me by the collar he snatched the book from my hands. He was shaking, anxiously brushing off invisible dusts, or our prints, off the cover.

"I can't believe you would conspire with the Sage to go behind my back. And I worked so hard on this for you."

Details aside, I had to first reassure him that I didn't ruin anything. His anger was turning into hurt, and it was making me sick to my stomach with regret.

"No! No, of course not. Nothing is ruined. I didn't look inside. C'mon, Wolf. You know I would never touch your things."

It was true. For my birthday last year, he left an elegant wooden box right infront of me with the orders not to open it at all costs. I was curious as to what was inside, sure, but I dared not touch what was his. I foolishly came up with my own idea, believing he had dentures, and left it completely alone.

Wolfram didn't have dentures, he told me afterwards, conking me upside the head for even thinking such a thing.

But at the end of the day, turned out the box was my birthday present. Somehow Conrad had convinced him that the best way to surprise me was not to tell me at all. Conrad told him that I would let the curiosity win and I'll open it myself, making the surprise twice as great instead of Wolfram's initial plan to just outright give it to me as it was. So he had hid, waiting to see my reaction. At the end of the day Wolfram ended up frustrated and upset with my resolve of steel, and a vow never to trust his brother with surprises ever again.

"You really didn't look?" he asked again, calming down, and I bobbed my head furiously.

"I swear."

He eventually sighed, and staring at the book once more for a moment, my eyes widened when he suddenly thrust it out for me to take.

"Here. I might as give it to you now then. There's no point in hiding it any longer. What's a few days early of a difference is it anyways?"

I didn't take it.

"Wolfram, you don't need to show me. It's your personal belonging."

"No. This is for you."

Oh right, he did say something like that just now… but still.

His eyes were clear as I stared into them. Anger was gone, replaced with a calm and firm expression. Holding the book out to me, that look didn't waver.

"No, Wolf, seriously-"

"It's yours! I made it for you! It's for our-" and he stopped, biting his tongue when he remembered Murata who was still in the room, watching our exchange with interest.

We stared at him before the wise man got the hint.

"Oh, sorry. I'll leave you two alone." And with that cheeky smile of his he scampered out of the room as fast as he could.

As the door closed behind him, Wolfram continued.

"It's going to be two years since our engagement. I just wanted to give you something for the occasion. Er, some memories. Shin Makoku doesn't have any of those… cam-camaras that your world has, so I took to drawing some instead. I had to resort to my old style, but I guess you'll appreciate it."

Fascinated, I could feel curiosity swelling within me as I eyed the cover. The golden stripes on the blue shone with slight wear, and before I opened it, I hastily sat on the bed. Wolfram just neared me, his own form radiating anxiousness, cheeks slightly red.

I opened the book hesitantly, and I was immediately met with a portrait of myself, sketched nicely in black charcoal. I remembered the moment he captured quite evidently. It was one I was often in. Slouched over on my desk, half asleep, scrawling my last minute signatures on to each sheet of paper before me. Since it was late and I tended to skip my regular working hours, more than once Gwendal would force me to finish the leftovers before bed. And as a result, Wolfram was at my side, waiting until I was done.

My heart fluttered as I looked at the other page to see Greta and me sitting on a chair together in the library, reading a book before we tucked her into bed. Already dressed in her peach coloured nightgown, we would read together until she fell asleep.

And like that the pictures went on. All of them candid photos. Picnics as a family, morning exercise, studies, baseball practice, one with me scarfing food down my mouth. There were even sketches of Conrad and Gwendal, Lady Celi looking as beautiful as ever with her wide smile and long golden hair that reminded me of Goldilocks. There was one of Gunter fussing over me and even Gisela as she tended to my many little injuries.

I laughed, each picture more comical than the last, and many warming my heart. A smile stayed on my face throughout, but something still tugged at my strings. I couldn't help but feel that the book was incompletely. That someone was missing.

"There's none with you," I said, and seeing him stiffen from the corner of my eye caused me to look up at him. I caught his deeply reddened face before he covered it up with a scolding.

"Of course there isn't me! I'm the one drawing it so how can I be in the picture?!"

"Oh. Then maybe I should draw one of you. There're still a few pages left," and I thumbed the set of blank paper at the back of the book. He snorted in response.

"Please, your creative sense doesn't exist. I doubt your stick figures could compare."

I sweat-dropped. Well, he was right about that.

"Then, I'll hire an artist to draw you."

"No thanks. I don't fancy being followed all day by a complete stranger."

"But there has to be a picture! How can it be a family album without you?"

Despite being adamant about my gesture, he fell silent at that statement. He eyed the door with furrowed brows, teeth clenched as he struggled to find words.

"You know what, I'll just hire someone."

"YUURI?!"

I grinned up at him.

"What's the harm? I will get to have some pictures of you glaring at the artist, and you'll have pictures of yourself yelling at me!"

"Yeah, that way I'll be able to show them to Mama Miko when we go back to Earth. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see how much of a wimp king her son is," Wolfram teasingly spat, and I flinched, a nervous smile on my face before transforming into a genuine one.

"Not what I had in mind… But we've reached an agreement!"

"No we haven't!"

"Wolfram-"

"Uh, excuse me, your Excellency-"

"WHAT?!"

Wolfram shot a glare at the door, and the unsuspecting maid froze, her face twisting with surprise and fear. I felt sorry for her, and so did Wolfram because he forced himself to calm down, especially when she gathered all the remaining courage she had to continue.

"What is it," Wolfram said quietly, but his voice still sounded stiff.

"Lord von Voltaire requests that you meet him in his office immediately."

"… I see."

"I take your leave. Goodbye, your Highness," she said after turning to me, and she bowed quickly, scurrying out the door. I chuckled and returned my eyes to Wolfram.

"Looks like Gwendal needs you."

"I know. Because of your shenanigans I had completely forgotten the reason why I came here. I had to collect my report for last week's inspection and submit it to him. Thank Shinou you were here as well."

He turned around and walked towards the desk, pulling the sheets of paper that was within the drawer. Scanning through them quickly with his eyes, I leaned back and watched with a smile, fingering the sketchbook as he turned and stalked out the door. Not before giving me one last warning though.

"This is not over," he shot, and the door shut behind him, my chuckles barely reaching his ear.

Sighing, I skimmed through the book again, trying my best not to cause any smudges. Mom would really love to see this. Whenever I went home she always begged me to tell her about my life in Shin Makoku. She wanted to see and meet everyone, and personally give them the gifts she would send each time without fail. The album would be nice, but before I returned, I had to get some pictures of Wolfram. Other than Greta, he was the one she wanted to see the most.

A creak caught my ear, and looking up, I saw black hair pop through the opening.

"Hey, Shibuya. No hard feelings about this, right?" Murata chuckled nervously.

Closing the book, my soft smile warped into one of annoyance, and I tried my best not to grab and throw him out the window for all the trouble he caused. Instead I regarded him cautiously as he stepped into the room. Hmm. Was that scorched marks on his clothes? I sniffed the air around him, and immediately smelled the scent of burning clothes. Singed hair too.

"I see you were still lurking around nearby when Wolfram left."

Murata stilled at my words, but smiled widely even after being caught.

"I don't think he knows the trouble he could get in for harming me."

"Well, I think you deserve it."

"Aw, c'mon Shibuya! I am not the enemy here," and he stepped closer, attempting to take the book once again. I slapped him on the hand.

"Ow!"

"Forget it. And you better leave before I do something even worse to you."

"What, mad that I almost put your engagement in jeopardy?" Murata teased, and he chuckled, inching closer to get his hands on the book.

"Idiot Sage," I started, tightening my hand around the book.

"Hm?" he answered.

"As the Demon King, I order you to get out."

Thank you for reading! Please show your love with some reviews! I will think of some more fics. I just love this fandom so much! -hearts- -hearts-